Erin R. Sanders, Ph.D.

Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics

Office/Lab:  2839 Slichter Hall
Phone:  (310) 825-1783
Fax:  (310) 206-5231
Email:  erins@microbio.ucla.edu
Campus mail code:  148906
Mailing Address:
  University of California, Los Angeles
  1602 Molecular Science Building
  609 Charles E. Young Dr. East
  Los Angeles, CA 90095-1489

Departmental Roles:

Undergraduate — Adjunct Assistant Professor; Academic Coordinator for MIMG Instructional Laboratories

Graduate — Co-Faculty Advisor for MIMG Teaching Assistants, Departmental TA Training Course (MIMG 495 – Preparation for Teaching Microbiology in Higher Education) & Programs

Life Science Division Roles:

Director of Initiatives in Life Science Laboratory Education — http://www.crlc.ucla.edu/

Current Courses Taught:

MIMG 103AL — Research Immersion Laboratory in Virology

MIMG 103BL — Advanced Research Analysis in Virology

    Course-related Instructional Materials:  Education Resources for Genome Annotation Project

MIMG 109AL — Research Immersion Laboratory in Microbiology

MIMG 109BL — Advanced Research Analysis in Microbiology

    Course-related Instructional Materials:  CURL Online Notebook

Previous Courses Taught:

MIMG 101 — Introductory Microbiology  (Fall 2005 & 2006)

MIMG 101L — Microbiology Laboratory  (Fall 2005 to Spring 2008)

MIMG 102L — Virology Laboratory  (Winter 2006, 2007, & 2008)

MIMG 103L — Laboratory Methods in Modern Microbiology & Immunology  (Fall 2008, Winter 2009, Spring 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010)

MIMG C159 — Advanced Molecular Genetics  (Winter 2007)

MIMG 121A — Microbial Molecular Biology Laboratory  (Winter 2006, Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Winter 2008, Spring 2008, Spring 2009)

MIMG 180A — Scientific Analysis and Communication I  (Winter 2011, Spring 2011)

MIMG 180B — Scientific Analysis and Communication II  (Spring 2011, Fall 2011)

Research Interests:

• Undergraduate microbiology education
• Metagenomic analysis of microbial communities including bacteriophage & soil bacteria
• Microbial energy production
• Site-specific DNA recombination
• Molecular systematics of green algae & plants

“In the News”:

• Microbe World: “UCLA Pioneering Microbiology Educator and Author Discusses Innovative Teaching  Methods”
• DOE JGI Education Program: “Undergraduate Research in Microbial Genome Annotation”
• NSTA Reports: “College Students Engage in Research in Pilot Program”
• UCLA Newsroom: “UCLA Science Students in Pilot Federal Program Will Conduct Original Research in Laboratory Classes”
• “Professors should explore new ways to engage students in lecture”

Education-Related Publications & Recent Presentations:

Shapiro C, Ayon C, Moberg-Parker J, Levis-Fitzgerald M, and Sanders E.  Strategies for Using Peer-Assisted Learning Effectively in an Undergraduate Bioinformatics Course.  Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education.  [accepted]

Sanders ER and Miller JH.  I, Microbiologist: A Discovery-based Undergraduate Research Course in Microbial Ecology and Molecular Evolution.  ASM Press, Washington DC.  (2010)  ISBN 978-1-55581-470-0.

Ditty JL, Kvaal CA, Goodner B, Freyermuth SK, Bailey C, Britton RA, Gordon SG, Heinhorst S, Reed K, Xu Z, Sanders-Lorenz ER, Axen S, Kim E, Johns M, Scott K, Kerfeld CA.  (2010)  Incorporating Genomics and Bioinformatics Across the Life Sciences Curriculum.  PLoS Biol.  8(8): e1000448.  doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000448

Sanders-Lorenz ER, Pires E, Levis-Fitzgerald M, Millora L, and Ko M (2008).  Implementation and Evaluation of an Undergraduate Inquiry-based Research Laboratory Program in Microbial Ecology.  CCLI PI Conference, Washington DC.

Sanders-Lorenz ER (2007).  The Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden as a Classroom for Teaching Microbial Ecology and Evolution at UCLA.  Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden Newsletter 10:7-8, 11.

Research Publications:

Schwartz AR, Ortiz I, Maymon M, Fujishige NA, Vijanderan JA, Hanamoto K, Kim W, Diener A, Sanders ER, DeMason DA, and Hirsch AM.  Bacillus simplex, a little know PGPB and biocontrol agent, alters pea legume root architecture and nodule morphology when co-inoculated with Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae.  [in preparation]

Hausner G, Olson R, Simon D, Johnson I, Sanders ER, Karol KG, McCourt RM, and Zimmerly S (2006).  Origin and Evolution of the Chloroplast trnK (matK) Intron: A Model for Evolution of Group II Intron RNA Structures.  Molecular Biology and Evolution 23:380-391.

Dhar G, Sanders ER, and Johnson RC (2004).  Architecture of the Hin synaptic complex during recombination: the recombinase subunits translocate with the DNA strands.  Cell 119:33-45.

Sanders ER and Johnson RC (2004).  Stepwise dissection of the Hin-catalyzed recombination reaction from synapsis to resolution.  Journal of Molecular Biology 340:753-766.

Sanders ER, Karol KG, and McCourt RM (2003).  Occurrence of matK in a trnK group II intron in Charophyte green algae and phylogeny of the Characeae.  American Journal of Botany 90:628-633.

Merickel SK, Sanders ER, Vázquez-Ibar JL, and Johnson RC (2002).  Subunit exchange and the role of dimer flexibility in DNA binding by the Fis protein.  Biochemistry 41:5788-5798.